Fourth Place Cold Comfort For Hart

press release

Fourth place in this year's Rotax Euro Challenge is cold comfort for top New Zealand karter Josh Hart.

Over the weekend of 12/13 September Hart claimed a history-making third pole position in a row at the final round of the 2009 European Challenge series at Salbris in France before going on to claim two wins and a third in the heats and start the Pre-Final (the race which determines the grid for the Final) from P2 on the grid.

pic - Fast Company/Bas Kaligis

But that was as far as his round and/or 2009 series title aspirations got, the 22-year-old from Palmerston North punted off the track as the field bunched up into the first corner.

While he was able to start the Final, it was from the back row of the grid (because he hadn't finished the Pre-Final) and because he only made it back up to 10th place by the time the chequered flag came out, he ended up fourth in the series points standings.

Making up 23 places in just 14 laps - as well as setting the fastest race lap in the progress - was some achievement.

But compounding the frustration of not getting a proper shot at the Final - which enjoyed a clean start and run through the first corner after officials spoke to the drivers after the Pre-Final - was the fact that had he finished third (as he did last year) in the championship Hart would have qualified for the annual Grand Final meeting in Egypt later this year.

For the record the Final (and therefore round) was won by British driver Joseph Reilly with his Tony Kart team mate Luke Varley second.

It was Varley, however, who won the Rotax Euro Challenge title from Reilly with Gillard driver Joey Van Splunteren third and Hart the first of the Intrepid drivers in fourth.

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